Suzio aims to introduce bill that would cap gas tax in Connecticut

Published 12:00 am, Tuesday, July 26, 2011

State Senator Len Suzio said Monday that he will introduce legislation next year that would cap one of the ways the state taxes gasoline.

Suzio, R-Meriden, said he will propose a bill that would cap the state's gross receipts tax on gasoline when prices at the pump top $3 per gallon. He represents the 13th State Senate District, which includes Cheshire.

"Connecticut now is ranked number one for the most expensive gas of any state in the continental U.S.," Suzio said. "We have got to find a way to provide relief from the pain at the pumps."

Suzio's proposal would cap the state's gross receipts tax at 21 cents per gallon. That calculation is based on the 7 percent tax on gasoline at $3 per gallon.

The state has two taxes on gas, one that the consumer pays directly and the other which is passed through to customers, said Adam Liegeot, a Suzio spokesman.

The tax the consumer pays directly is currently at 25 cents per gallon. But Connecticut also has a gross receipts tax that places a 7 percent levy on the distributors who buy the fuel wholesale. The gasoline retailers who purchase the fuel from wholesalers ultimately pass the cost of the gross receipts tax they pay onto consumers.

Based on the current wholesale price of gas, Suzio said Connecticut's gross receipts tax nearly doubles the state tax on gas, making it more than 47 cents per gallon.

Suzio said he finds the gross receipts tax particularly troublesome. While the base gasoline tax is locked in at 25 cents per gallon, he said the amount collected from the gross receipts tax grows exponentially as per gallon price of gasoline increases.

"Quite frankly, the state has gotten a windfall from this," Suzio said. "It's why we ended the last fiscal year with a surplus. But the state shouldn't benefitting from the pain that higher gas prices cause our residents."

"Big oil companies would simply keep the price the same and pocket the difference," said Derek Slap, a spokesman for state Senate Democrats. "It's disappointing that Senator Suzio wants to hand big oil companies, which are already enjoying record profits, another tax break. We need policies that offer real relief for families."